Shrinking human civilization down into a series of island nations—that was the answer Cocolia had come up with within the first month.
Bombs had already been strapped to the load-bearing pillars of the bridge Shu and the others had crossed. Once detonated, the Mediterranean defensive line would be fully operational.
After that, travel would be restricted to ships, which was why Cocolia had been deliberately collecting all the small boats in the area.
That particular ship was one she had intentionally left here.
The various factions in Western Europe were a tangled mess. Nobles and commoners, bureaucrats and wealthy merchants, warlords and governments—almost every faction of note had left a few people behind.
The intermarriages between nobles and the feuds between warlords created a chaotic web of alliances and betrayals. It was the kind of situation where you'd hear, "My son-in-law and my rival just took down my uncle, so now I have to team up with another enemy's sister to get back at his brother by taking down his brother..."
With situations like that happening constantly, it was impossible for these people to unite on their own.
So, Cocolia forced them all to the same table. Stepping on the bodies of two who wouldn't listen, she held a gun to their heads and made them smile at each other while they negotiated.
Though these people were all bandits at heart, they were smart enough to know what mattered most.
The horrifying faces of the zombies terrified them. They all wanted to live, to continue enjoying their lives, not turn into rotting husks wandering the streets alongside the very people, classes, or factions they once despised.
Thus, they all tacitly accepted Cocolia's leadership. It was just one more person above them—no big deal.
Everyone here knew of Cocolia, the lone wolf known as "The Devil." On "The Spiderweb," she was listed alongside killers and mercenaries like "The Rose Maid," "Raven," and "The Ural Silver Wolf" as a top-tier threat.
In fact, "The Devil's" fearsome level of activity hinted that she was vying for the top spot on that list, which made these people even more hesitant to disrespect her.
After all, every one of them had a hefty bounty on their heads on "The Spiderweb." Becoming a cold, hard payout for offending her was a risk not worth taking.
However, everyone here also knew that Cocolia ran an orphanage, which was considered her only real "faction."
This wasn't surprising. Top-tier mercenaries and assassins like her were often groomed from a young age through a process that was anything but gentle, leaving them with broken parts inside.
To mend those broken parts, establishing a sanctuary of their own was the most common way they tried to heal themselves.
And the factions knew better than to touch these sanctuaries. Their typical strategy was to provide some funding to these facilities and pressure others to leave them alone.
No one wanted to face a frenzied assassin coming at them with nothing to lose, and even less did they want to face a group of top assassins banding together out of fear that they'd be next.
Someone had tried it once—they went after "The Devil's" orphanage, thinking they could act with impunity while she was away.
Unexpectedly, the incident drew the attention of "The Ural Silver Wolf." Soon after, other mercenaries caught wind of it and began to move. "The Rose Maid" handled the cleanup, and "Raven" made a name for herself during the conflict...
Heh... more than four top-tier mercenaries gathering in one place. What a magnificent spectacle that must have been.
But now, these factions acknowledged Cocolia's leadership not just because she was capable, but because they believed they could overthrow the lone "Devil" at any time and take her place.
Once they caught their breath in this disaster, they figured that with the equipment they controlled, their biggest enemies would be the other factions on their level. Cocolia, at the top, would be the easiest to deal with.
Does she have troops? Does she have equipment? What gives her the right to be in charge?
These people had planned to "tolerate" Cocolia for a few months, and when the time was right, they would either turn her into a puppet or kick her out and take over themselves.
Then, the sudden appearance of the Fire Moth scared them silly. They had been on their best behavior for two months, too afraid to make a single move.
This wasn't some mercenary group. This was an organization that could still form a disciplined army under these conditions, that wielded power they couldn't comprehend, and that had presented an entirely new framework for handling the catastrophe.
And especially those two Kaslanas! The Apocalypse wasn't as important; what mattered was that two of this organization's core members were Kaslanas!
This was bad. This was the kind of righteous organization that people from the gray areas, like them, hated the most.
"Defeat the Honkai, Rebuild Civilization." What a noble slogan. It was like a blinding light shining down on them, making them feel like rats scurrying in fear.
How could they possibly challenge a group like that? Even if they weren't the type to shout about bonds and friendship before rushing in to crush them!
To survive under such a power, their only option was to "launder" their reputations. For the past few months, they had been working diligently, trying to cultivate an image of "I may not be a good person, but at least I'm human."
An organization dedicated to saving the world wouldn't dig up old dirt, right? After all, their core members included two Apocalypses.
Meanwhile, the members of this much-feared Fire Moth detachment were sitting in the orphanage's game room, staring blankly at a game disc.
"A sailing simulator?" Sin Mal's expression was cracking. She looked at the pile of game discs Bronya had produced and suddenly had serious doubts about the team's professionalism.
"This is a limited-edition game disc that the Bronya collected from ARC City," Bronya declared, determined to defend her collection.
"Aren't all discs 'limited edition' these days?" Sin Mal shot back, unimpressed. "A device the size of your thumb can hold several games, yet you insist on using discs?!"
"Ahem... It's about the romance of gaming. Just like a virtual world can't replace the tactile feedback of a controller's buttons," Bronya insisted, staunchly defending her hobby.
"Tch. And who was it that got obsessed with 'Arcadia' and threw away her almost 1000-day consecutive login streak in another game...?"
Bronya's expression faltered. "When it comes to games... it's not being fickle. It's..."
"Ah, the 'novelty factor,' right?" Sin Mal said, cleaning her ear impatiently. "I'm sick of hearing you say that..."
"Bronya-oneechan has actually only said that six times..." Seele murmured, trying to defend her, though it didn't seem very effective.
"Hahahaha—!" Kiana burst out laughing maniacally, so loud that even Shu, who had been lost in his phone, looked up at her in surprise.
"So there really is a day where you can't find an excuse! Hahahaha!"